Jonny Corndawg and South Carolina duo Shovels & Rope play Northampton's Iron Horse on Friday, March 30th. Robert Ellis opens.

 

Jonny Corndawg, Virginia-raised, Nashville-cured (and currently homeless) is an infectious songwriter and burgeoning country starthat worships the altar of Waylon Jennings, Billy Joe Shaver, and Michael Hurley. With lyrics so honest they'll make you blush or laugh out loud, or ponder how he's able to render a topic in just a few sure lyrical brushstokes, his songs will sneak up and ambush you where you won't be able to get them out of your head. His humor is evident but so is his respect and love for the genre; Corndawg is paying respect the way he knows how.

Offstage, Jonny Corndawg is an airbrushing, leather-working, marathon-running, truck-driving machine who treats his body like a temple and country music like the gospel. Daytrotter wrote: "his ideas seem to be drawn from the skies like crazy lightening, strange buzzes that will make you loopy for a second, nailing him with an idea that he then feels compelled to communicate, no matter how off-color or graphic it may be." Corndawg has a knack of singing about things most people think about but wouldn't dare say.

 

From down Charleston SC way, duo Shovels and Rope keep it simple and are believers in the "less is more" school of music. They take two guitars, a junkyard drum kit (harvested from an actualgarbage heap- adorned with tambourines, flowers and kitchen rags), a handful of harmonicas, their voices, and above all ... songs.  Shovels & Rope spent 2011 on the road and logged 170 shows and over 60,000 miles of windshield time. They traveled along side Hayes Carll, Justin Townes Earle, Jason Isbell, the Felice Brothers and Butch Walker and found time to write and record a record along the way.  Recorded in their house, van, and backyard, O' Be Joyful is slated for release in Spring 2012.

At the shows, expect to hear a little something from any or all of their releases (The Winner, Lions and Lambs, Shovels and Rope)  - while the duo switch instruments and share lead vocal duties. Also prepare to rethink your definition of a live rock band. 

Download Jonny Cowndawg' s track "Fools and Sages" (feel free to share) and stream his last release, Down on the Bikini Line. Check out his video for "Chevy Beretta" HERE.

Download Shovels & Rope's track "Boxcar" (feel free to share) and check out their video for "Gasoline" HERE.       

Tickets for all Iron Horse Entertainment shows are available online 24 hours at IHEG.com by phone at 413. 586.8686 and in person at Northampton Box Office (NBO) located at 76 Main Street in Northampton - Monday through Saturday from 9:00 am - 6:00 pm and Sunday Noon to 5:00 pm.